One mode allows a user to display a desktop (such as KDE) locally from a remote Linux machine, much like the LTSP. The NoMachine system has two modes of operation. I’d also have had to open various ports on my firewall, posing potential security problems. They provided the right functionality but weren’t very strong on security. VNC and x0rfbserver were also obvious choices. I thought about using the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) and straight SSH, but they give the user a remote desktop or command line, and my desktop had to be visible to the networked user. NX had some advantages over the alternatives. The product worked across my LAN, although I was only partially successful going across a WAN.

I turned up NoMachine‘s NX software, a terminal server application for Linux and Solaris hosts. All the obvious solutions had serious drawbacks, so I had to dig deeper to find an answer. I needed a way to display my desktop to a user at the other end of a network connection for an online training project.

Start nomachine server on linux